ARTICLES ABOUT RABIES BY DATE - PAGE 5

Officials in Indian-Kashmir have poisoned hundreds of dogs and aim to kill all 100,000 strays in the region's main city -- saying the animals pose a risk to humans and make urban life unbearable. With the world's highest rabies fatality rate, India long has struggled to control its millions of stray dogs, a problem exacerbated by rapidly growing cities and slums. "These dogs have become a big nuisance and they are threatening humans," said Dr. Riyaz Ahmad, the Srinagar city health officer who is organizing the killings.

Dom Durbin is on a mission to make owning pet skunks legal in Illinois. The Farina resident has written to state legislators, posted an alert at congress.org and launched a Web site, skunklaw.com. Durbin was given his first pet skunk, Penelope, by his brother as a wedding gift. Durbin was unaware it was illegal to own one. Durbin's beloved pet skunk grew ill and died. Now he wants to get another one. "My wife and I adored her," Durbin said, remembering Penelope. "We loved that little critter."

The two pit bulls who mauled an 8-year-old Roseland neighborhood boy in his parents' yard have been given to the city by their owners to be euthanized, a city official said. Joshua Dixon of the 10100 block of South State Street was attacked by his family's two pit bulls inside his home's gated yard Wednesday evening, police said. He was returning from school when he was attacked. The dogs knocked the boy down and bit him multiple times, injuring his face, police said. From Animal Care and Control's investigation, it appears that both dogs -- one male, one female -- bit the boy during the attack, said Mark Rosenthal, the operations manager at Animal Care and Control.

A bat that flew into an outdoor hot tub in Homer Glen has tested positive for rabies, making it the eighth rabid bat found this year in Will County, which already had broken the record for the highest number of county wildlife rabies cases in Illinois history, officials said Thursday. In all of Illinois, 88 rabid bats have been found so far this year, said Vic Reato, spokesman for the Will County Health Department. The highest number of state wildlife rabies cases previously reported was 51 in both 2004 and 2005.

The article "A unique survivor takes another astonishing step" (News, Aug. 30) detailed the miraculous story of a young woman who, after being bitten by a bat, survived rabies after symptoms had developed. As the only documented person to have survived rabies in recent history without receiving post-exposure vaccination, this young woman's remarkable story is understandably a national topic of interest in the media. Unfortunately the victim does not fully recognize the serious health risks associated with handling bats, as she is quoted in the article as saying that she would not hesitate to pick up a bat if she came upon one in the future.

Authorities plan to kill tens of thousands of stray dogs in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa using strychnine-laced meat, saying they want to eradicate rabies before next week's celebration of the Coptic millennium. Animal rights activists and commentators have condemned the proposal to kill dogs.

Will County has confirmed that a bat discovered in New Lenox this week is the sixth case of wildlife rabies there since Aug. 2, officials said Friday. Will County Health Department and animal control investigators also determined that no humans were exposed to rabies, a fatal viral disease. Bats found in Plainfield, Joliet, Naperville, Bolingbrook and Beecher also recently tested positive for rabies. "July, August and September are the busy months for bat rabies confirmations," Will County Animal Control Administrator Lee Schild said.

Test results are expected to confirm Wednesday whether any of the 15 bats captured in and around Kane County homes in recent days is rabid, county health officials said. The latest round of testing comes as another bat, found in Aurora and the fourth found in Kane so far this year, has been confirmed to have rabies, said Paul Kuehnert, Kane County Health Department executive director. As of mid-August, the state has recorded 68 cases of rabies in animals in 2007, all found in bats, he said.

For the second time in two years, a bat captured in Kane County has tested positive for rabies, said Patricia Sikorski, county animal control administrator. "The message is simple but serious -- there is a danger and a risk," Sikorski said Tuesday after her report of the discovery to county public health officials. "I wouldn't be surprised if we see more positive bats. There is that potential," she said, based on the 18 positive cases confirmed by state health officials so far this year in the Chicago region.

Orland Park police found a rabid bat inside an apartment in the 9800 block of 153rd Street this week, authorities said. It was discovered near death in a first-floor bathtub Tuesday and tested positive for rabies, police said. It's unclear how the bat got inside the apartment. No one was hurt, but police notified nearby residents in an automated call. Mark Matuck, assistant director for communicable disease control at the Cook County Department of Public Health, said it's important for residents to have their pets vaccinated against rabies.